100% national board exam pass rates for MCC Surgical Technology program

Mohave Community College Surgical Technology students continue setting a high bar when it comes to the national board exam pass rates.

MCC Surgical Technology Director Michelle Diaz just received notification that every student passed the national board exam in 2018. 

The 100% pass rate for MCC far exceeds the national average pass rate of 77.9%, according to the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting, NBSTSA.

“I’m so happy for our students,” said Diaz. “Our program is rigorous and we made it that way to prepare them to be the best surgical technologists in hospital operating rooms, and these pass rates show our students are on their way to great careers.”

This marks the second year in a row that every student in the MCC program passed the National Certified Surgical Technologist Exam, earning the program the very rare distinction of accomplishing a 100% pass rate two years in a row. 

Ben Price, CEO of the NBSTSA, sent a letter of congratulations to MCC Surgical Technology Director Michelle Diaz after the entire 2017 class of students passed the test.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors of NBSTSA, I would like to congratulate Mohave Community College for achieving a 100% graduate pass rate on the Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) Examination.  Our sincerest congratulations on your success,” Price wrote in the letter.

MCC has two classroom operating rooms set up on campus, with cutting-edge technology that students will find in real operating rooms.  Most students are hired immediately after graduating, according to Diaz.

The program is based on the MCC Lake Havasu campus, however it is attractive to students outside of the Havasu area because for the first 2 semesters students are only required to be on campus two days a week.

Then, since MCC has agreements with several hospitals, students will spend much of their time at those clinical sites, as well as participating in a class online.

“The thing that is really nice for our students is we try to put them in clinical sites from the city in which they’re in,” said Diaz. “So, for instance, students from Yuma will do their rotation at Yuma Medical Center, those from Kingman and Bullhead City do them at hospitals in their towns.”

The average salary for surgical technologists is $46,310, and the U.S. Department of Labor reports the salary on the high end jumps to more than $72,000 per year. The job outlook is also strong with the medical industry projected to need 12,600 more surgical technologist by 2026.

Applications for MCC’s Surgical Technology program are still be accepted for the Fall semester.

For more information visit the MCC Surgical Technology webpage at www.Mohave.edu/SurgTech or call 1-866-MOHAVECC.

The MCC program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs in cooperation with the Accreditation Review Committee on Education in Surgical Technology, and provides the knowledge necessary to take the national certification examination for surgical technology.